


take your time (you're already on my mind)

by chariiots



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Persona 5 Spoilers, i really hate myself, lapslock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2019-02-05 23:35:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12804816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chariiots/pseuds/chariiots
Summary: with jihoon suddenly becoming a frequent customer of leblanc, it somehow suddenly makes sense that soonyoung try to seduce him.the problem is, jihoon doesn’t even seem to realize. what kind of fucking ace detective is he?[a persona 5 x seventeen crossover]





	take your time (you're already on my mind)

**Author's Note:**

> please note that this will be extremely spoiler heavy plot-wise, especially after 8/28 (atlus spare me) and if you don’t want to risk being spoiled, i suggest you finish the game before reading.
> 
> to avoid confusion:  
> metaverse - an alternate universe of twisted cognitions  
> shadows - evil manifestations borne from one's inner thoughts  
> persona - a manifestation of a persona user's personality. similar to a shadow, but tamed and trained.  
> palace - a physical manifestation of one's twisted desires for particularly corrupt individuals, forms the differe levels and bosses  
> mementos - a palace for everyone

with jihoon suddenly becoming a frequent customer of leblanc, it somehow suddenly makes sense that soonyoung try to seduce him. at least, it does for seungkwan, who’s pretty damn persuasive to the rest of the team. (or maybe not. it’s probably because hansol is so whipped for him, but it’s best that soonyoung doesn’t say it to his face unless he wants to risk hansol wiping his whole phone and disabling it for weeks on end.)

the problem is, jihoon doesn’t even seem to realize. what kind of fucking ace detective is he? between soonyoung’s constant pick-up lines and casual flirting, he still seems oblivious to everything, and it’s getting on his nerves.

(“hey, babe. i think i’ve lost my number, can i have yours?”

“don’t you use an iphone? how could you lose your number?”)

it’s been two weeks, and soonyoung’s made absolutely no progress. he knows absolutely nothing about him except for when he actually comes over. on days he doesn’t work, jihoon’s there before he even gets to leblanc, and leaves right after the evening rush ends. on days he does, jihoon arrives maybe about half an hour after he starts his shift, and just… sits there.

he sits there! that’s it! he orders a coffee and sits there, either staring into space or poring over his school work. every single attempt of flirting (re: 10 and counting) has just bounced right off of him. it’s as if he can’t even process the fact that someone’s trying to ask him out, and it’s _appalling_. honestly, he expected someone like jihoon to be used to having to reject many girls, but that doesn't mean he, kwon soonyoung, is about to give up.

* * *

“hm, interesting,” jihoon mutters, sipping his coffee. if leblanc was any busier, perhaps soonyoung wouldn’t have heard him. but, this is leblanc, after all. there’s not a lot of business in the first place, to put it nicely.  

soonyoung looks up from cleaning the counter and turns to jihoon, raising a brow at him. “your coffee tastes… sweeter than bumjoo’s,” he explains, almost as if he’s confused. “more… chocolatey? don’t you two use the same recipes?”

“is that a bad thing?” soonyoung teases, feigning offense.

“of course not. i prefer yours, honestly.”

soonyoung pouts, wicked plan already forming in his head. “oh, but you’ve still offended me! you now owe me a date!”

he watches as jihoon sips the last of his coffee calmly, narrowing his eyes slightly before sighing in resignation. “one date. that’s it.”

this really wasn’t what he was expecting. he was expecting a flustered jihoon to panic and say no, not him to be so emotionless about it, and much less to accept. but kwon soonyoung isn’t one to back down from a challenge, and to take it back now feels like losing to seungkwan.

soonyoung takes a deep breath and smiles nervously. “well- uh, how about dinner tomorrow? we can- we can meet at shibuya station?”

jihoon smiles gently- god, he smiles so genuinely that it almost blows soonyoung off his feet. his lips curl upwards so cutely, and it looks nowhere near as forced as what his smiles on television look like. “sae-san and i have a meeting tomorrow night. how about saturday evening?”

“i- sure, yeah. works for me… what’s your number? you know, uh, so i’ll be able to find you then.” soonyoung scrambles to find his phone, before realizing it's not with him. why is he even nervous? if any one of them saw him like this, they’d laugh at him for it, especially jun.

jihoon chuckles at his embarrassment before taking a pen from his bag, scribbling his number on soonyoung’s wrist before leaving. soonyoung just stares at him in utter shock, still unable to process the fact that he just got a date with the one and only lee jihoon, ace detective and prodigy.

well, crap. what does he wear? where should he bring jihoon? being a phantom thief doesn’t mean he can steal hearts outside of the metaverse! does he ask the internet?

“you’re hopeless,” morgana says, padding up the staircase leading to the attic. soonyoung knows.

* * *

 now, see, morgana actually doesn’t know how to shut up, especially when he’s getting ready to go out and meet jihoon.

“are you really sure you want to wear that?”

“put those away, you look atrocious in them!”

“hey-! aren’t you taking me along?”

“i think jihoon would hate to have to hear your meowing,” soonyoung deadpans, but morgana hops into his bag anyway. there’s really no point arguing with him, so soonyoung just sighs before zipping his bag up.

he loves morgana, he really does. just, not when he’s laughing his ass off hearing soonyoung stutter his way through everything, nerves about to swallow him whole.

jihoon looks… very cute. too cute, in fact. he’s never seen jihoon out of his signature trench coat, come to think of it. well, now soonyoung knows for a fact that seeing jihoon in a sweater and tight black jeans is enough to make his jaw drop. it must be his looks that draws most of his fans- that must be it! how else can it explain why soonyoung’s so… affected by him?

he immediately notices soonyoung staring, and quickly looks away. “ah, hello. so sorry if this is a shock to you, i don’t usually wear my coat if i don’t expect the SIU to call me in.”

“y-you wear it all the time though?”

jihoon smiles- that stupid cute kitten-like smile that makes his knees weak. “i took the day off today. didn’t really feel like having them disturb me. it’s rather surprising, though. why would you want to go out with someone like me?”

“why’re you so shocked? don’t people ask you out all the time?”

“of course not, why would they? even so, most of them tend to be… bland people. there are better ways to spend my time, rather than wasting it on them,” he says, actually offended by the question which amuses soonyoung to no end.

“oh, like on me?”

jihoon is quiet, as if seriously considering the question. just as soonyoung wants to tell him that he’s joking, he finally speaks up.

“perhaps.”

* * *

the streets of yongen-jaya are usually rather empty, which probably explains why most of the time, jihoon would rather meet with him here than in shibuya. even though he’s technically a public figure who’s made tons of tv-appearances and had to sit through even more interviews, the poor boy’s still introverted as hell. he once mentioned that he actually hated crowds, and seeing a large audience in front of him actually makes him nervous.

“are you sure jisoo and wonwoo want to meet me?” jihoon says nervously, tugging at his sleeves. “i mean, they don’t seem particularly keen on me…”

soonyoung shakes his head, before wrapping an arm around jihoon’s waist to pull him closer. “h-hey! we’re in public!” jihoon hisses and tries to shrink away from his touch, but soonyoung just laughs and holds him tighter.

“ah, ace detective and shujin academy’s resident delinquent! don’t we make quite the pair?”

“quieten down! i swear, you’re too loud for your own good,” he mumbles fondly. “you really didn’t have to wait for me just to walk me over.”

“let me be romantic, alright? anyway, you don’t have to stress,” soonyoung nudges him playfully, as they continue to walk towards leblanc. most people seem to ignore them, with maybe one or two trying their best to be discreet about the staring. imagine the staring they’d get if they were this affectionate in shibuya, though. hell, jihoon would probably be asked about it in his next interview too.

it’s pretty painful to have to sneak around, which is why they spend most of their time at leblanc. the last thing they want is to be found out by the media, what with jihoon being an idol of sorts now and soonyoung’s reputation still in the gutter. society still isn’t accepting anyway, even if they led normal lives. it’s just… frustrating. it’s frustrating, but it’s all worth it in the end.

the moment they step in, wonwoo turns to wave them over. “hello, jihoon. how are you?”

“fine, thank you. is sae-san still doing well? please do remind her to rest, she seemed very tense when i saw her today. jisoo-kun, how’s your garden?”

the conversation is comfortable, and jihoon’s laughter as he talks to wonwoo and jisoo makes his heart twist slightly. how could he- how is he feeling so… fond of jihoon? it can’t possibly be a crush, he tries to tell himself.

the more time he spends around jihoon, the more he realizes how much he’s starting to like jihoon. along the way, something that was meant to be a scheme ended up as too real feelings. a relationship like this would never end well. then again, has he really ever cared about consequences?

* * *

we interrupt your regularly scheduled program with breaking news: kunikazu okumura, president of okumura foods, confessed to mistreating his employees during his press conference last night. however, he suddenly suffered from a heart attack-like affliction, resulting in his death.

his death is reminiscent of the mental shutdown cases that occurred earlier in the year, and it is presumed that the phantom thieves have had a part in this due to the calling card sent out. were the phantom thieves involved in the previous mental shutdown cases, and are they truly murderers?

* * *

akihabara, unsurprisingly, is a place rather foreign to jihoon. it’s not that he’s a snob that thinks he’s too good for a place for otakus, it’s just… he never really had the time. growing up, his whole life was centered around studies, then to helping the SIU. there was just too little time to read manga or play video games.

soonyoung said he was hanging out here with shinya at some… gigolo arcade. the name itself makes it sound like such a dubious place, but soonyoung probably wouldn’t go to fishy areas- okay, that’s a maid cafe. nope.

after wandering around for awhile, he finally manages to find the arcade. what he doesn’t expect is to see soonyoung being scolded by a decked out woman… and a child? shinya is a child?! “i’ll tell your school that you’re stalking my son!” the woman shrieks. her voice itself already grates on jihoon’s nerves. someone who looks as well-dressed as her having the attitude of a bratty child, why is jihoon not surprised?

“soonyoung, so sorry that i’m late. thank you for watching shinya for me, dear. good evening, ma’am! and who may you be?”

the woman’s eyes widen at the realization that she may have just insulted him unknowingly, and she keeps tripping over her own words in an attempt to explain what was going on.

jihoon really has no patience for this nonsense. she’s taking up way too much time just trying to get out a coherent sentence in front of him. what rubbish. “shinya’s your son, i see? is it alright if i bring him out for dinner? after all, i did already make the promise to him. i’ll send him back home, don’t worry,” jihoon says, cutting her off. she immediately agrees and scurries off, leaving jihoon grinning victoriously at the two boys. being an idol to the public has its perks sometimes, as much as he usually hates it. “so, dinner?”

for a kid, shinya eats _a lot_. he also talks a lot, but it’s nothing compared to soonyoung or seungkwan, so he doesn’t mind. “and li’e, my m’m wasn’ li’e thi’ b’fore-”

“you shouldn’t talk with your mouth full, shinya,” jihoon gently lectures, and shinya quickly swallows before continuing.

“sorry, jihoon-san. all she thinks about now is winning or losing and… and i wish the phantom thieves would change her heart. you can ask them for me, right?” he looks at soonyoung expectantly, as if soonyoung agreeing would be able to change his whole world. frankly put, it wouldn’t do anything for him, but if it would make shinya feel better-

“we’ll do it. well, i’ll make sure he asks them for you.”

shinya grins at him and throws himself at jihoon, hugging him so tightly that he can barely breathe. “seriously? thank you!”

laughing, soonyoung reaches over to ruffle shinya’s hair, and jihoon feels like his heart could explode any minute. somehow… it feels like shinya respects him for something so small, so insignificant. jihoon doesn’t really understand it that much, but there’s no point in trying to. there’s no need to at all.

(“i thought you didn’t like the phantom thieves?” soonyoung asks as they walk back to the station together after dropping shinya off.

“don’t get me wrong, i am still not a fan of them. but if it makes shinya feel better about his mother… he’s just a kid.”)

* * *

with jihoon curled up beside him, head in his lap, all soonyoung can feel is content. even though it’s only been a month since they’ve started dating, it feels like they’ve known each other for centuries.

it’s scary to think that in the beginning, he only wanted to date jihoon to get close to him and sway him into supporting the phantom thieves. yet, the more time he spends with him, he starts to realize that jihoon’s not as self-righteous as they thought.

what made jihoon even agree to go on a date with him in the first place? why would he even want to actually date soonyoung? watching him slowly open up and loosen up around him… how many people actually get to see this side of him?

this feeling… he didn’t really plan to develop a crush on him at all. jihoon yawns, eyelashes fluttering, before smiling shyly at soonyoung.

“you don’t mind if i stay over again tonight, right?”

“not at all.”

* * *

“i can’t believe you’ve convinced me to stay for this crap,” jihoon mutters, fidgeting as they stand in the back of the school hall. he’s been on edge ever since he had to be interviewed in front of the whole school for their cultural fair as their “guest celebrity”, and well, soonyoung would be too if he had to do a q&a with high schoolers. some of the questions were rather… invasive, to say the least. thank god for wonwoo being there to regulate everything.

“hey, some of the confessions are pretty funny- sh!” the more soonyoung thinks about it, maybe he shouldn’t force jihoon to stay, but he seems like he doesn’t mind too much?

“welcome back to our annual post-festival shujin student sharing! does anyone have anything to say? anyone? ah, is that jihoon-san in the crowd? why don’t you come on stage, i’m sure everyone would love to hear you say something!” junhui smiles viciously at him, and soonyoung can see murder in jihoon’s eyes as he drags himself on stage.

jihoon nervously adjusts the microphone, before tapping gently on it. “i’m sure the student body would rather here _students_ say something, wouldn’t they?”

“ah, who cares? i don’t think they do!” the crowd cheers, and it just feeds junhui’s audacity. “so, jihoon-san, is there anything you’d like to confess to?”

jihoon’s face turns red as a beet. as much as soonyoung would like to watch him suffer under jun’s hand, jihoon looks genuinely distraught. he has a job as his… boyfriend, technically. “hey, can i get your number?” soonyoung shouts, and all the attention turns to him.

jun rolls his eyes, but plasters a smile back onto his face. it’s almost unnoticeable, but he’s is definitely annoyed that he didn’t manage to embarrass jihoon. “my, do we have an admirer of jihoon-san?”

“you’re hot as hell, jihoonie! will you date me!”

“how about you come up and share? you- the one in the glasses and messy hair.” oh? he wasn’t expecting this. challenge accepted, wen junhui.

he walks onto the stage, watching as jihoon sneaks right out of the hall as all the attention shifts away from him. “yeah, sharing right? our MC right here, wen junhui, just two days ago, i had to watch him take the big bang burger challenge. can you believe he couldn’t even finish half the burger?”

soonyoung walks off stage, enjoying as jun tries his best to laugh off the sudden exposé and move on to the next student. he’s probably gonna get his revenge someday, but that doesn’t really matter right now.

jihoon’s waiting outside, leaning against the wall as he scrolls through his phone. “soonyoung? thank you. so… maybe we should leave to get dinner now?”

how can he say no?

* * *

“i don’t know, it just felt like- you weren’t just interested in me because i’m known as some ace detective. it felt… genuine. like i could trust you.”

* * *

stormy nights are soonyoung’s least favorite. his umbrella can barely take the rain pelting down on it, and it means that trying to strengthen bonds with his confidants, or just doing anything in general, is twice as much of a pain in the ass. okay, so maybe that’s why he’s putting off going to takemi’s clinic to get more medicine for their mementos run tomorrow, but in his defense, it’s a pretty valid excuse.

he yawns as he grabs an umbrella, swinging the door open. the last thing he was expecting to see was jihoon standing right in front of him and drenched to the bone, teeth chattering as he shudders.

what is he doing out in _a storm_ without an umbrella? his heart races, letting jihoon in before rushing to grab a towel and a set of clothes from his closet. it breaks soonyoung’s heart to see him like this, so vulnerable as he curls up on one of the bar stools. why would he do this to himself?

“baby… go change now. i’ll make you a coffee, okay? we’re getting you warmed up right now,” soonyoung insists, shoving everything to jihoon before going to boil a fresh pot of coffee. yet, jihoon doesn’t want to budge, reluctantly shuffling to the toilet to change.

they spend the next few minutes like this, jihoon nursing a cup of coffee as soonyoung gently dries his hair thoroughly with a towel.

“it’s sae-san,” he says all of a sudden, and soonyoung hums in acknowledgment. “she has this- this palace, and i don’t know what to do.”

“she had it since the start of the year. this application on my phone… i don’t know how it activated, but when i was wandering around, this- this black masked man ambushed me. he shot me but back then, i was thinking, ‘no. i have to live. i have to continue my pursuit of the truth, i can’t just die like this.’ and my persona…

“i feel like a coward for doing this, but i just- i didn’t want to go in anymore. i was scared of dying, but now i’m watching sae-san drown in her twisted desperation to find out who the phantom thieves are. soonie, she’d do anything to solve it. she’d even twist the truth and- and that’s not- she wasn’t like this in the past.”

suddenly, he turns and looks at soonyoung, gaze completely hollow. “tell me, are you all part of the phantom thieves. i saw you enter the cognitive world yesterday. please, don’t lie.” his voice is terrifyingly hollow, and soonyoung sets the towel aside to wrap his arms around the small boy in an attempt to comfort him.

silence.

“we’ll help you, okay, baby? we’ll help you change sae-san’s heart-”

“let me come along.”

soonyoung hesitates. if jihoon’s not a trained persona user- what if he gets hurt? he got shot once in the metaverse, how can soonyoung risk it happening to him again. if it’s anything like okumura’s palace, it’s going to be tough as hell to find the treasure, with even tougher shadows to fight. but then again, they let jisoo join the team even though he hadn’t even awakened to his full powers. it’s not like it’s one on one, and… “okay. but promise me you’ll be careful, okay?”

“promise.”

* * *

 “are you sure it’s… okay to hold a meeting without joker?” minghao says as he walks to the shujin rooftop with junhui.

“i mean, hansol wanted it. besides, isn’t it about him and crow? wait, there’s a teacher walking past- okay. we can keep walking now.” junhui quickly pulls minghao up the staircase, trying to make sure no one notices that a student from another school is on campus. now that he thinks about it, he should have just asked minghao to change into a spare set of uniform, but it’s a little too late now.

seungkwan and jisoo are already on the rooftop watering the plants. “that hansol- he wanted a meeting, wouldn’t let us hold it at his house, and now he’s late?” seungkwan complains, and jisoo shushes him.

“wonwoo is already trying to get him past the teachers and into the school. be patient, seungkwan.”

the door to the rooftop opens again, and right on cue, wonwoo and hansol show up. “speak of the devil.”

“do you want to hear what i have to say, or not?” hansol huffs, and everyone keeps quiet, finding places to sit down and talk. “good, thanks. anyway, i’m worried about soonyoung. seungkwan and i have been talking and-”

“things just don’t add up,” seungkwan cuts in. “you know how jihoon said he was an untrained persona user? he’s so unnaturally good at wielding his persona! and if we bring this up to soonyoung, i worry he’ll be upset.”

jisoo looks rather affronted, and wonwoo sighs at their lack of tact. “jisoo also managed to learn fast, that doesn’t count for anything. seungkwan, i know you aren’t the fondest of jihoon, but what you’re saying… as much as you have the right to be suspicious of him, he’s our teammate now.”

“i think jihoon would do anything to make sure soonyoung is safe, from how he fights in sae-san's palace. even if he has bad intentions, it seems like he would still put soonyoung first,” jisoo adds.

even after they adjourn the meeting, seungkwan still can’t shake off the bad feeling. this is about soonyoung, about the boy who ignored all the untrue rumors about him being hot-headed and violent, all generated because of kamoshida. it’s about the boy who helped him and junhui expose kamoshida’s cruel and lecherous ways, how he would abuse the track team and prey on the girls. yet, if soonyoung trusts jihoon… he should at least try to, for soonyoung’s sake.

* * *

when soonyoung falls from the ladder and right in front of the crowd of policemen waiting to arrest him, all he can think about is if the rest of his team made it out safely. it barely even registers when one of the cops tell him a teammate ratted him out as he feels the familiar click of handcuffs being slapped onto his wrists.

* * *

kwon soonyoung wasn’t expecting anyone to enter, not after sae- no, prosecutor nijima left the interrogation room. it’s… familiar. since when would they allow guests to enter the holding cell? would they really be that kind?

“i can’t believe you’re so stupid. do i really need to keep saving you, kwon? come on, i’m getting you out of here.” … jihoon? it couldn’t possibly be…

“how drugged up are you? god, i fucked up. i’m so sorry.” why’s jihoon sorry? there’s nothing to be sorry for. if anything, soonyoung himself should be the one that feels sorry for dragging everyone into this mess.

“let’s go, okay? can you stand? … i assume not. i’ll carry you then. you’re gonna be alright, you here me. just stay with me. stay awake, okay?”

he feels himself being picked up, and jihoon’s arm wraps around him. “o...kay,” he mutters softly, and jihoon’s grip tightens.

“promise?”

“pro...mise.”

* * *

with jihoon standing in front of them in shido's palace smirking viciously, everything starts to make sense again. or at least, it makes sense to soonyoung. jihoon must have been the one who tipped off the police at sae’s palace, but something, something had to have made him realize that what he was doing was wrong. something must have been the catalyst for him to make him want to save soonyoung from the holding cell.

“you know, it’s such a shame that the two of us didn’t meet a few years earlier. perhaps things wouldn’t have to play out this way,” jihoon says.

“why would you work with someone like shido?” wonwoo asks, and jihoon sneers at the mere thought.

“you act like i want to. this is to make that good-for-nothing father of mine finally acknowledge me, then i can finally take my revenge! i, his bastard child, i am a disgrace to him, am i not? i am a curse to my mother. and yet, someone gave me this power, let me know about the cognitive world!”

_“you… we trusted you... ”_

“you shouldn’t have. and i’ll make shido regret ever trusting me, using me as some puppet of his. the mental breakdowns, everything, i’ve just been following what shido tells me to do. aren’t i useless? i’ll make him regret it, though. when he thinks he’s at the peak of his power, i will destroy him!”

jihoon cackles ruthlessly, almost deranged with power as he changes his persona, shifting from his white princely suit being swallowed up by black smoke and shifting into a black armor. there’s no way soonyoung can deny it- this is his jihoon.

can they really blame him though? soonyoung has no right to, not when he knows most of jihoon’s past from him babbling on late in the night, high on adrenaline and coffee. he’s quite a talker, despite his facade. he trusted soonyoung with so many of his secrets, from moving from household to household, to feeling like he was never wanted. with so much going on in his life, expectations crushing him, can they really blame him for being pushed off the edge?

_“you’re the one behind the mental shutdowns… ”_

“if not for the phantom thieves, my plan would have worked smoothly. just a few more weeks, but you had to interfere, huh?”

jihoon takes a few steps forward, and everyone tenses up, ready to draw their guns to shoot him, but all he does is reach a hand out to cup soonyoung’s cheek.

_“joker!”_

“you know, i didn’t expect to fall for you. can you believe it? me, big bad criminal behind the mental breakdowns, falling in love with the leader of the vigilantes. i started off wanting to kill the phantom thieves, yet i don’t think i can ever bring myself to. it’s not too late, soonie, what do you say? call off your heist. i don’t want to pull the trigger.”

he said being with soonyoung was the first time he felt… loved. he felt safe and loved, he said it himself. all those words, it couldn’t possibly be a lie, right?  

soonyoung is far too calm right now, looking jihoon straight in the eye as he smiles, grabbing his free hand. wonwoo has to hold seungkwan back from doing anything too drastic, as everyone stares in complete shock at them. _is this- is this the end?_

“you said it yourself. it’s not too late. please, if we call it off… i love you too much to let you get hurt, jihoonie. you don’t have to do this. we can serve justice to shido another way, okay?”

jihoon falters, and quickly backs up. “no- i- don’t do this! don’t- you’re confusing me. there’s no way you could actually l-love someone like me! no, you have to be lying.” he panics. his tough facade comes crumbling down, and really, he’s just as vulnerable as everyone else. he immediately draws his gun and points it at soonyoung, hands trembling like mad, but soonyoung knows he won’t shoot. there’s no way he could ever bring himself to.

“there’s nothing to lie about,” soonyoung says calmly. “look into my eyes, baby. didn’t you say you knew when i lied? am i lying now?”

“no… soonie-”

“what the hell? that’s shido’s cognitive version of jihoon!” wonwoo shouts, and the whole team freezes in realization. jun makes sure to pull soonyoung back by the coattails to hold him back from doing anything reckless, but soonyoung smacks his hand away.

cognitive jihoon walks over and aim a pistol at the real jihoon, and jihoon laughs. his voice is laced with complete bitterness that it chills them all to the bone, “i was wondering how he’d shield himself from me. how ironic.”

“isn’t it pathetic that you thought you had the upper hand? you yourself already know that you’re a puppet, anyway. did you really think he’d want to keep you around after the elections? how foolish.”

adrenaline kicks in, and the moment soonyoung processes it, everything seems to slow down. he whips out a gun and shoots cognitive jihoon’s hand before tackling him to the ground. cognitive jihoon snaps his fingers to make shadows pop up and surround them, as if it’s still in control. the fact is, it never was, not when it’s up against soonyoung and jihoon.

soonyoung doesn’t bother to look up. anything now is a potential distraction, and there’s only one goal in mind: to get all of them out of here alive. “you’re the fool here if you think i’d let you touch a single hair on his head,” he snarls as he shoots cognitive jihoon in the head, forcing it to change into a shadow itself. “everyone, attack!”

“roger that!”

* * *

sometimes, he regrets agreeing to sae’s request. juvenile hall wouldn’t be half as bad, if not for the fact that it meant leaving jihoon behind. yet, it’s the only way they can get shido convicted, as there can’t be solid evidence unless he testifies. the only way to testify is to come clean as a phantom thief, which comes with a whole new set of problems: crimes like breaking and entering, trespassing private property, all added to his list of crimes _while_ he’s still on probation.

considering that this was also the only way to protect his teammates, he’d do it again and again. the police would have come up with some crime to pin on them just so that they can save their own egos, and he wasn’t about to risk that happening. he knows they’d do the same for him.

sae dropped by once to talk to him and mentioned that jihoon was working alongside her to prove his innocence. how hard has jihoon been working so that his name would finally be cleared? has he taken good care of himself? does sae make sure he rests? do the rest of the thieves- are they okay?

soonyoung keeps thinking about christmas eve. it was so clear that jihoon knew he was hiding something. yet, he chose to pretend like he didn’t, chose to just curl up next to him and talk. does jihoon regret it? did he expect this already? maybe he already knew from sae talking to him about it. having to turn himself in on christmas day… it must have been hard on all of them. they probably expected to be able to celebrate their first (and possibly only) christmas together.

either way, he believes in them. his confidants, his teammates, sae said all of them have been chipping in evidence, that they’ve been trying to rally support for him. even if he has to wait, he knows that all of his friends are worrying about him, and are doing their best to prove his innocence. he’ll be able to see them again soon, he just has to wait.

* * *

“you’re wearing the earrings i gave you for christmas.”

“it was the only thing i had from you.”

jihoon keeps avoiding his eyes, trying to hold in all of his emotions before just throwing himself at soonyoung. “you idiot. you goddamn idiot. i worked so hard to get you out of there, so you better not get into any more trouble, okay? god, i- i missed you so much.”

soonyoung holds him as tightly as possible, laughing softly. “i missed you too, hoonie. i missed you so much. i kept thinking about you non-stop. sae told me that you and wonwoo helped her in solving the case?”

“it wasn’t just me. everyone- everyone was scared that you’d be convicted. but… i’m proud of you, idiot. you turned yourself in to protect us. but you still worried the hell out of me! don’t do that ever again, you hear!” soonyoung gently wipes away jihoon’s tears, mumbling apologies and promises to him over and over again. it feels like he could stay like this forever, holding jihoon in his arms, knowing that all of them are safe now. this- this has to be the perfect ending.

“come on, let’s go. the rest are waiting for you at leblanc. bumjoo-san offered to drive us back.”

he’s home now. kwon soonyoung’s finally back home.

* * *

if there’s one thing soonyoung has learned, is that psychological damage is hard to undo. to now, jihoon still has issues with believing that he’s wanted for nothing more than the reason that they love him. it’s hard on him, and now soonyoung can’t be by his side to help him with it. even though jihoon promised to take care of himself, it doesn’t stop him from worrying.

in the end, he was only supposed to be here temporarily. he was only meant to stay here for as long as his probation lasted, but now that it’s over, there’s no more reason to. time has never been on his side. he’s been chasing deadline after deadline to change hearts, then he had to wait for what felt like forever in juvenile hall right after stealing shido’s heart, which should have been the end. now that he has to leave, it almost feels like everything just _has_ to be robbed from him.

“so… what do you plan do from here on out?” wonwoo asks.

it’s the end of the trip already, isn’t it? it’s time to say goodbye.

“well, you better promise to visit at least,” jihoon demands.

“and text us every day!”

“remember to video call too!”

“we’re gonna miss you.”

then again, the more he thinks about it, there really doesn’t have to be a goodbye. soonyoung knows there’s no way he could be away for too long. it’s not just jihoon that he’d miss, it’s all of them. how is he meant to leave his family behind? how could he ever forget them?

“i’m gonna convince my parents to let me come back. by hook or by crook.” the whole van cheers as they cruise down the highway, wind blowing into the van through open windows. the taste of freedom is sweet in his mouth, and as jihoon bickers with seungkwan and junhui, with jisoo trying his best to mediate, he knows he’ll have enough memories of them to last until they meet again.

**Author's Note:**

> i... am deceased. i tried my best to explain things like the mental shutdowns in the story itself, but i really got stuck for things like the metaverse etc. it was fun to write, but god was it tiring... i'm not happy with it, so i'll probably rewrite then edit this, but this will do for now...
> 
> akechi and ryuji best bois
> 
> [prompt me!](https://cheriiots.tumblr.com/ask)
> 
> social media: [tumblr](https://cheriiots.tumblr.com/) | [twitter](https://twitter.com/chariiots) | [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/woozwhy)


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